Abducted
by Pixiekatt
Summary: Chasing down a fallen star, Nora is sure she's about to take home something amazing. But things take a terrifying turn when she gets taken instead, and now she must come to terms with the existence of aliens - and the unique position she's found herself in among them. *Story idea based off of the classic image of an "alien abduction", slight movieverse but mostly AU*
1. Abducted

Chasing down a fallen star, Nora is sure she's about to take home something amazing. But things take a terrifying twist when she gets taken instead, she now she must come to terms with the existence of aliens-and the unique position she's found herself in among them. *Story idea based off of the classic image of an "alien abduction", slight movieverse but mostly AU*

 **Hello! This is a sort of prologue. Please let me know what you think.**

 **This story has been bumping around in my head for awhile-it's based on classic "alien abduction" scenes. Also, just to say it, there will be no probing in this story. Guess I'm not _that_ classic. Hahaha...ha. Okay I'm just going to start the story now. **

* * *

"Sir, we have located the mini-con signature. Locking on to its position now."

The leader turned his helm, optics moving over the three at the command console and to the scout. The bot met his gaze briefly before returning his attention to the helm of the ship. However, the excitement in his optics hadn't been missed.

"Good. Keep the holofield up and continue scanning for enemy activity. We cannot risk an ambush."

"Yes, sir!"

* * *

"Don't be such a baby, fuzzball. The catwalk is the fastest way there," Nora chirped, shaking her head at her grandma's dog, Adonis. He gave her a withering stare from under his fringed fur, eyeing the narrow scaffolded structure crossing the river dismally.

"I told Nan I was walking you, after all. Why not take a detour from our normal route?" She continued, turning her eyes to the other side of the Snake River, where the mountainous terrain left the expanse largely unsettled by man.

From the top of one of the hills, smoke was still rising from where _something_ had fallen from the sky. Nora had heard on the news about the upcoming meteor shower which was supposed to last the span of about a week. She and her grandma had stood on the balcony the first night to watch-most of the town had, in fact. The tiny town in Idaho had nothing else to do, after all. What they _did_ have, at least in Nora's opinion, was the most beautiful night sky she'd ever seen what with it being so close to the mountains and away from any major city's lights. She'd remained on the balcony for hours after Nan had gone to bed, enjoying a good read on her kindle under the bright moon and sky which streaked with the occasional falling star even into the early hours of the the morning.

The sun had not yet risen when she'd felt the earth tremor briefly. Immediately Adonis went wild, and her gaze shot quickly from her book to see a flickering light in the hills across the river, dimming even as she watched it through the sizable dust cloud.

Eyes moving to the sky, she immediately suspected what it might be, shooting up from her seat and racing inside, kindle forgotten. She darted down the stairs excitedly, hoping to be the first to find the downed meteor. When she reached the front door, she was met by Adonis, who sat in front of it and whined up at her. He was a mid-sized and somewhat homely thing, whose body stood at knee-height to her and whose mottled gray fur made him appear like an old man. What breed he could be, she couldn't tell, but her grandma insisted there was some cattle-dog in him which made him smart. Nora had yet to be convinced of this last fact.

"You wanna come, Donny?" she asked the notoriously cowardly mutt incredulously. Glancing at the clock, it was nearly 5:30am. Her grandma was an early riser, and if she found her 'baby' missing when she woke up, Nora knew she would freak out.

Making a quick detour to the kitchen to leave a note, she grabbed Adonis's leash and hooked it to his harness and they took off toward the river.

And there they were, greeting the dawn as they made their way to the hills beyond that overlooked the small town.

"Almost there," she whispered, pushing through the long grass and shrubs covering the rocky earth as she made her way to the peak, where she saw smoke still rising up from the landing site. Adonis followed closely behind, whining at her intermittently.

"Shoulda stayed home if you were just gonna chicken out now, oh great _Adonis_." She laughed at her companion, smirking at the sorry excuse of a canine. Her grandma was always one for the grandiose names, even if they did not match the subject. It seemed to be a quirk that her mother had inherited as well.

At the peak, they were met with scorched brush and burnt earth, a steady stream of vapor leaving what appeared to be a charred hole in the top of the hill. Although it wasn't a perfect circle, the widest parts were about a yard across in diameter.

Holding her breath as she looked down into it, whatever was inside seemed equally as burnt, her eyes only able to make out a black surface through the smoke and dim light of morning. The heat radiating off of the object warned her not to touch, and she frowned. Waving a hand in front of her face, Nora stepped back as she contemplated her next move. Wait for it to cool?

 _Don't wanna,_ she thought irritably. She didn't want to risk someone else coming to investigate while she waited. She wanted to pull it out and look at it, take it back to her grandma's if she could. But she'd need to be smart about it.

Looking around, her eyes spotted a tree down the bank a ways, one of the few tenacious trees that gave up their majesty in order to survive the rugged riverbank terrain. The tree had grown outwards along the hillside, its reaching masses of tangled branches seeming to crawl up the the shallow gradient, leaning on the ground for support rather than reaching directly for the sky.

Making her way down to it, her eyes scanned its branches for a suitable candidate. She broke one off using her weight as leverage and eyed the sturdy branch with satisfaction as she turned back toward the peak.

As Nora reached the crater once more, she found the smoke was clearing and she peered inside. What she could see confused her, as it didn't appear to have the texture of a meteorite. The surface of the object was smooth-scorched, yes-but it could only be smooth underneath, without divet or flaw.

Lowering her branch into the hole, she ran an end over the surface and was startled further when she scraped up some of the blackened surface to reveal a shiny and metallic color beneath. The audible _screeet_ that came with the action only added to her conclusion of what the item might have been made of. _What…?_ she thought in befuddlement, not able to comprehend what the item might be if not a space rock. _Maybe a satellite fell? Some space junk?_

Excited now, Nora moved the end of the branch to the side, working the tip in between the object and the side of the crater. Wedging the end in as far as she could, she began to work the branch around like a lever, hoping whatever the object was was light enough to be jimmied out so she could examine it further. Luck seemed to be on her side, and the object tilted up a bit. This gave her the leeway to push the stick in deeper for more leverage, and soon she had it up on its side.

The thing was surprisingly thin, about 5 inches thick, and she found that it was shaped like a pentagon. Scraping away at the blackened surface, she could tell it was definitely solid and metal. She worked away at it until some kind of crest could be seen partially on one side. Nora was trying to get a closer look when suddenly the wind kicked up, blowing smoke into her eyes and blinding her. At the same moment, Adonis went wild, barking and snarling and whining desperately while pulling madly at the leash. Nora fell back at his yanking, looping the leash into the crook of her elbow so that she could rub her tearing eyes with both fists.

"Don, stop it! Shush, cool it boy, stop!" She snapped, eyes still watering as she blinked them open at the dog who continued thrashing in her hold. He was looking at the sky, the white of his eyes showing as he panicked. "'Donis! Cut it out!" she tried again, his yanking pulling her down the bank until she tripped.

With a startled cry, the leash was pulled from her grasp as she fell, rolling into the branches of the shrub-tree which she grabbed for support. She pulled herself up in time to see Adonis' rear end dipping over the bank toward the catwalk, no sign of stopping as he high-tailed it away. The wind whipped at her long hair and at all the branches around her, which she held onto with sudden fright. The old twisted tree had her caged in its hold just as she held onto it, its body creaking as its limbs were pulled around, the force of the wind growing and seeming to be trying to uproot the thing. And as Nora looked around wildly in confusion, eyes spotting her grandma's house from between the thrashing limbs, something suddenly struck her as off.

The trees in her grandma's yard were stock still.

While windstorms in this part of Idaho were not at all uncommon, Nora had never witnessed one like this. The tree she was entrapped in, her hair, her clothes-it all felt as if there were a great wind beneath them, blowing them upward. _Or kinda like_ , she thought, her mind reeling in horror, _something is pulling me up_.

When the unfathomable thought hit her, she froze.

 _Is it...a tornado…?_ she wondered. _But the sky is clear, where's the swirly vortex?_

Tilting her head back to see through the flailing branches, all thought paused as her eyes made out a _something_ in the sky. It was just a silhouette-hardly even that, really. Closer to a warp in the atmosphere. But it was a _something,_ nonetheless.

The flying dirt and organic debris betrayed its presence as the dust made contact and rolled over its surface and away. Everything within a 20 foot diameter seemed to be getting sucked up toward it by an unseen force-pulled high in the sky.

Gasping, Nora decided she'd had enough, starting to realize what may happen to her if she remained. She turned, clambering through the branches toward the river. The bark scraped at her skin and pulled her hair, but she felt nothing but terror as she tried to maneuver out of the tree and away.

Before she could make it any further, a blinding light filled her vision and she felt the tree let loose from the ground with a terrible yank, taking her up with it. Holding onto the branches in a vain attempt at stabilization, the scream she let out went unheard even by her own ears under the howl of the force that lifted them from the ground. She felt like she was falling upward, the ground becoming smaller and smaller as she fell away from it at an alarming speed. And just as soon as it started, it stopped, and she was engulfed in darkness that was complete. Her body hit a hard surface with a thud. Nora was out immediately.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Review and let me know what you think. More to come soon.**


	2. Just Too Clichéd

**Hello! Before I say anything else I just need to say how grateful I am for all the love I received after posting the first chapter. I am sorry it's taken so long for the second, but the length will be my apology. Hopefully you'll think it's worth the wait! I met a roadblock in the form of a plot hole, and it held me up for awhile, but luckily my buddy Colorful Crayola way there to listen to me rant about it, and I found my solution (sometimes all you need is a good rant and a good listener and the answer appears).**

 **Anyway, enjoy chapter 2! There's more to come.**

* * *

"The mini-con has been retrieved, Optimus sir. The transport beam has brought it into the eastern bay hold," the strategist said, closing the intake port.

"Good. Ironhide, you may go and collect it. We will return it to base and then begin charting the next drop location," Optimus replied, his optics glancing up at the image of the eastern hold of their ship. Prowl had tapped into the cameras in order to confirm the mini-con was in their possession, activating the lights in the hold momentarily so they could view the image through the feed. Among the soil and other organic matter, mini-con could be seen in its storage pod, inactive. The image blinked off the screen soon after, and Prowl turned the lights off once more to preserve energy. It was only one, and yet it was one more small power the Decepticons would not be able to use for their purposes. Not to mention being a small life spared from their abuse as well.

"Yes, sir," Ironhide replied, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice as he turned to leave the command console.

Ironhide was as pleased as the others about the safe retrieval of the mini-con, which had happened without incident. It felt as if luck were on their side just this once, what with the fall being so close to their base location. And when Optimus had entrusted him with the mini-con, he had been elated. It meant he would have a partner, and once awakened, the little bot would be his companion, aiding him in future missions as he was charged to keep it safe. He hoped it would be a mini-con that would prove powerful in their battle with the Decepticons, and was excited to see what form it would take after responding to him, its would-be keeper.

Entering the hold, he looked around at the mess the transport beam had caused it to become. Dirt and organic debris coated the room in brown from ceiling to floor, and a mangled tree managed to make its way in as well, lying in a heap to one side of the room. As he glanced at it, he was caught off-guard when a small pair of optics locked with his own.

"Ah," He exclaimed, startled. "What are you doing already active?" He asked. The mini-con blinked up at him innocently. He furrowed his brow plates in confusion. He had not believed that the mini-cons would awaken on their own. Ironhide scanned his optics around the room once more suspiciously, but the mini-con didn't seem bothered as it wandered over to his peds.

"...No matter," Ironhide said gruffly, giving the room one last befuddled look before his optics fell back to the little being. "As long as you can still imprint, perhaps it is fine. Now why not come here, let's see what you can do, little one." The small bot looked up at him happily as Ironhide reached down, climbing into his palm without hesitation.

But if Ironhide had expected there be some kind of outward change, he was sorely disappointed. The mini-con regarded him with a kind of bemused interest, showing no sign of changing form to match Ironhide. Ironhide felt his faceplates move to closely resemble a scowl.

 _Cool it, mech,_ he thought to himself. _Perhaps he has malfunctioned from the fall?_

Even as he wondered this, it wasn't as if Ironhide fully understood the workings of the mini-cons, to begin with. Perhaps taking it back to Optimus and Ratchet would provide him with some answers.

The mini-cons were a different kind of being, their functions known to be quite useful and straightforward in terms of complexity. Each had its own talent, a specific ability used to assist life on Cybertron, although normally this ability was their primary and only function. No one could contest the loyalty of a mini-con, however, along with the fact that the mini-cons were, in general, peaceful beings. Cybertronian history had shown a long-standing relationship of positivity between the larger and smaller beings, and although they were well-liked, many felt that much about them had yet to be discovered.

As far as their intellect, there had been some controversy on Cybertron about that. Many had believed them to be a simple race of beings without a deep intellect. They definitely did not have much use for language, although it seemed they could understand each other and Cybertronian speech for the most part. Their responses back were limited, often to only 'yes' or 'no'. For this reason it was easy to dismiss them as merely tools for their society, and later on the war-although it had mainly been the Decepticon's perspective. Plus, given the fact that a mini-con's purpose depended solely on the one who activated it, mini-cons who had been activated already served no use to the Decepticons who destroyed them as if they were garbage. It was only by a mini-cons own volition that they change keepers, receding into their inactive storage-pod form and resetting their systems in the process so that they might awaken to another keeper with another purpose. To try and force a mini-con into this action was considered a great crime.

The Autobots and many others had felt differently toward them than the Decepticons, however. Living their lives alongside the small bots, there were often bonds formed between them, friendships many claimed could not be formed with beings as simple as the Decepticons presumed. Ironhide himself had seen intelligence shine back at him through mini-con optics, wisdom even, despite the fact that he had not been old enough to form his own partnership with one before the war broke out. By the time he could, the mini-cons had already scattered, hidden amongst the stars. Even so, it did not change his opinion. Despite the fact that he could not always understand them, he knew better than to underestimate their level of understanding or intentionality.

Glancing down at the small bot perched in his servo, he saw it turn its helm to look back into the bay hold once more before turning forward again, its expression looking thoughtful if Ironhide could hazard a guess. He would have to ask Ratchet about its curious onlining.

* * *

Nora had awoken to a soft vibration beneath her, and she immediately jolted upright on her knees. A thin trail of warm liquid ran from atop her cheekbone to her chin, and she quickly lifted a hand to touch it. It was not a large cut, but fresh, and she vaguely wondered if she hadn't been out very long.

She couldn't see in the dark space, but what she could feel was unnerving as static ran over her skin and through her hair, causing it to stand on-end above her head. The air around her seemed electrified as well, and confusion turned to disorientation as her mind tried to process where she was and what had happened. A storm of recent events flew into her mind then, and she buckled over, feeling suddenly dizzy. She panicked as she strained her eyes in the dark space, unable to see a single thing.

 _I'm dreaming,_ she thought, closing her eyes. _This isn't happening. I didn't just get sucked up into the sky, alien-style._

Rubbing her hands together in the cold space, she felt the static shock between her hands and opened her eyes to see blue sparks bouncing between her fingers, the arcs of light glowing dimly in the dark space.

 _Whatever that was really left me electrified, and I'm not even wearing wool,_ she thought in confusion, watching the static light phenomenon occur as she rubbed her hands up her arms and through her hair.

It suddenly occurred to Nora that her surroundings were becoming easier to see, and she sat up straighter to look around. She could see she was still beneath branches of the twisted tree - but the space beyond it was slowly growing brighter.

The room was large, she realized as she watched it illuminate dimly. The light seemed to glow at the top edges of the room, and Nora huddled deeper into the tree's branches as she waited for something, anything to happen. But the silence stretched on, and she slowly grew impatient.

 _Why am I hiding?_ She wondered suddenly. _It's just a misunderstanding. I just need to find someone, and maybe I can explain myself..._

Getting back to her knees, she carefully shifted, silently pulling herself up from between the branches and glancing around to get a better view. It seemed that whatever had pulled her up had taken a chunk of the hillside with it. The room was filled with dirt, the largest mound being at the very center with half-buried shrubs and rocks poking out here and there.

Hands shaking, she placed them on a branch and pushed it down, manipulating the tree until she could pull the rest of her body out from its grasp. The task was made harder because of her long hair, which stood up in staticky red tendrils and caught in the branches as she went. With some effort, she managed to free herself from its grasp. Stepping down from the limbs at last, Nora suddenly panicked when the lights began to dim again.

Soon the space was engulfed in blackness once more, and she held her hands out in front of her as she made her way forward. She could not fathom where she might be - except an option in her head that seemed impossible. Alien abductions were the stuff of sci-fi movies. Surely, there was a rational explanation.

 _No no, just a misunderstanding. There has to be someone here, or a way out… I didn't do anything wrong,_ she reminded herself again.

Nora moved slowly toward the center of the room, feeling the dirt beneath her feet sloping upward as she approached the peak at the center of the room. Nora climbed it with no real direction in mind. As she made it to the top, she was momentarily startled to feel warmth emanating from beneath her. Turning her eyes downward, a dim glow appeared to be emanating from under her feet.

Scraping the thin layer of dirt away with the soles of her shoes, she couldn't help but gasp. There at her feet was a pentagon-shaped chunk of metal - the same one, she recognized, that she and Adonis had been investigating. She quickly stepped off of it, eyeing it suspiciously even as she crouched for a better look. It looked like it had been sucked up with the rest of the ground - or more like, considering it was at the center of the mound, the ground had been pulled up with _it_.

As the glow pulsed over its surface, Nora could see clearly now the strange-looking symbol on the outside, and she tentatively reached out a hand to it. She paused before her fingers could make contact, letting them hover just over the smooth surface to feel the warmth. It was no longer letting off steam even in this cold space, so she lightly brushed the surface, lifting her fingers away immediately in case it was hotter than she'd presumed. Feeling assured, she lowered them again then, running her hand along the grooves in the metal and the shape of the symbol. She could not fathom what it might mean.

 _Did I get caught up in some military operation?_ she wondered, her mind trying to make sense of her situation. _But, the thing that pulled me up was invisible. Do we even have invisible planes?_

Her mind continued spinning as it searched for answers, something more logical (and believable) than her initial thought. Which was that she had legitimately been abducted by aliens in the most clichéd fashion possible.

Suddenly, she was drawn out from her thoughts when a shock ran through her fingertips which were settled on the metallic object. Before she could remove them, the electric current ran down her arm and throughout her body, blue static racing in arcs over her skin as it did so. Nora cried out as she recoiled away from from the offending item.

"Ah!" she yelped, but it was over as fast as it began. Her hair immediately fell from its suspended position above her head, falling into her eyes and over her face as all the pent-up static electricity seemed to leave her body all at once. She scrambled backward, shaking hair out of her vision and looking down at the object in alarm.

The symbol began to immediately increase in brightness, and Nora watched as it slowly changed in color from a pale white to a bright yellow. Unsure, she took a step back toward her tree, and then found herself scrambling backward off the dirt mound when a metallic grinding sound started up from the object.

 _Oh god, do not explode,_ she begged mentally. If it really _was_ military, she hoped she had not just activated some kind of bomb. Nora quickly moved further backward as she watched it, unable to divert her gaze.

The metal surface of the thing began to kind of _peel_ away, starting from the edges, until the pentagon shape had become something longer. Parts shifted and changed, and slowly the item seemed to be taking the shape of something else. Nora watched it in horrified amazement, unable to take her eyes off of it since it was the only light source in the room. Limbs separated from what appeared to be a body, and by the time a head was visible, she was struggling back between the branches of the downed tree, escape plan be damned.

A metallic chirp sounded from behind her as she struggled with the tree, and she threw herself inside blindly despite feeling her hair and clothes tearing in the process. Nora curled and turned around to face the thing, and her eyes were immediately met with its glowing yellow ones. Light shone from the joints of its body, and so she could make out its glowing silhouette in the blackness. It only made it more frightening.

 _It's looking at me,_ she thought vaguely, fear lacing her limbs as it stared right at her from between the branches. While her distress only escalated, it seemed to be considering her with calm curiosity. After a moment, the robot seemed to tire of the stare-off, as if becoming impatient. It stood, its height about a head taller than her own, and to Nora's horror it made its way toward her hiding spot. As it neared the room began to brighten once more, and Nora had her first clear view of the thing as it reached her hiding spot.

The little robot was vaguely humanoid, with large, perfectly round yellow eyes situated in a squarish, angular face. Where its mouth should have been there appeared a sort of upside-down 'V' shape, though it seemed more as a seam linking the two halves of its face together rather than a usable orifice. Shifting minutely on top of its head were two wide bands of metal which curved from connection points above either of its eyes, elevated an inch or so over the crest of its rounded head and then curving to disappearing behind in a small arc. The rest of its body was a silver mash-up of different angular shapes, forming a rather complicated-looking robot more on the stocky side than the lanky.

It tilted its head to one side to look in at her curiously, wanting a better view, and she shrunk back as far as the tree branches would allow. She heard the chirp again as it placed its 'hands' on a branch and tried to lean in. The little appendages didn't appear as to have fingers - they were more like mittens, two opposing pieces that she imagined worked more like gripping clamps than fingers.

When it began to pull at the branches, she squeaked in fear.

"Stop, stop!" she yelped, holding up her arms as leaves rained down on her. To her surprise, the little robot paused, its face regarding her carefully if not a little confusedly. The metal bands on its head moved slightly as it observed her, perhaps acting as receptors to better capture sound. Their stare-off lasted only a moment more as a noise from the other side of the room seemed to distract the thing, and it turned its head away to look.

A low buzz ran through the space, and Nora's relief at the robot's distraction was short lived. From her position under the tree, she could see a the bottom of a large panel open up in the side of the room. What she managed to see terrified her.

Two gigantic metal feet appeared in her line of sight, stepping into the room with tremendous tremors she could feel in all of her limbs pressed to the floor. The little robot seemed to greet the newcomer, moving toward it and, thankfully, away from her position. She heard sounds from the _thing_ that had entered the room then, a series of whirrs and clicks and trills and her mind could only register that it might be a language. She saw the small feet of the little robot move toward the large feet, and then saw it picked up by a large metal _hand_.

 _I'm having a nightmare,_ Nora thought in a horrified daze. But she couldn't look away from her narrow field of view.

She thought they'd leave then, assuming the little robot was what the big one had come for. However, there was a long, unnerving silence where the large robot just stood there holding the little one, a span of time that felt too long to Nora to be merely a matter of seconds. Moving as silently as she could, she lifted her head to glance up between the branches for a larger field of view.

She couldn't see the large being's face, but she could see his hand wrapped around the small robot. As soon as she looked she regretted it when suddenly the little one's glowing eyes turned back to her hiding spot, searching until they'd found her face from inside the tree. She froze as she wondered if it would alert the big robot. But it merely gave her the same expression as before, tilting its head as it regarded her curiously. And then it was gone, the large robot turning to leave the space with the small one in tow. She saw the panel close behind them, and she exhaled slowly, her stiff muscles relaxing somewhat.

The room darkened once more, and she was left with her thoughts which slowly became more coherent as her mind slowed a bit.

As far as she could guess, those things really _were_ aliens - and if they weren't, well, they were alien to _her_. This was their ship, and there were likely more on board.

 _Alien ship,_ she thought slowly, _I have really been...legit abducted. Okay... okay,_ she thought, steadying herself _._ Realization began to dawn on her as the floor's dull vibrations reached her senses again. _And_ _I'm probably up in the air right now._ She felt foolish for not thinking about it before, but it made her blood run cold as she wondered where they were headed. _Surely not to space, right?_

"I...I'm in trouble," she whispered, her voice breaking as she clenched her fists.

Nora shook her head, tilting it back as she held her breath for ten seconds.

 _I can't think about this right now._

Instead, she redirected her thoughts with some difficulty. So she'd been wrong - and maybe it wasn't the best idea to try and find someone and explain her case. She would need to take a more incognito approach, then. And whatever the aliens wanted on that mountainside, she now felt sure it hadn't been her. In fact, it was more likely they'd come after that little robot and she'd simply been sucked up along with it, unknown to them or their ship. Which meant that maybe she could escape without detection.

It was a pretty big 'maybe'.

Hands parting the branches, Nora once more made her way out of the tree, slower this time to avoid irritating her fresh scrapes. She could see nothing, but realized with sudden glee that she still had her phone in her back pocket.

 _Yes! Maybe I can make a call, have someone track me down with GPS,_ she thought hopefully, the forgotten device powering on loyally in her hand. But immediately her hopes were dashed.

No service.

She felt her eyes well up in extreme disappointment, but quickly rubbed the tears away as she instead fell back on her previous idea. Her smartphone's flashlight could not illuminate anything but the ground beneath her, but it was enough to do some poking around in the dark. Nora walked along the edges of the space, peering at the walls carefully as she went. Eventually she found what she'd been looking for - a small panel venting air into the room. The form was familiar even in the foreign setting, and she was grateful the machines seemed to go for the simple practicalities.

She encountered a slight problem while opening it, as it had no visible screws holding the vent cover in - but she found small openings along the edges she could fit her fingers into and pulled with all her strength. Eventually, the panel flew off, sending her falling backward and it to the floor with a loud _clang_. She scrambled up and glanced around, afraid someone had heard, but all was silent as before.

So, peering into the vent shaft with her light, she took a moment to calm her nerves before heading in to see where it lead her.

The upward inclines where the hardest, and Nora had to remove her shoes in order to gain any traction on the smooth surface beneath her, tying the laces together and draping them over her neck and shoulders while using her clammy hands and feet to crawl along the passage. She avoided them as much as possible, opting to go through lower or level passages if she could.

She could not use her phone to light the way as she crawled, but light filtered through the shafts occasionally from slats below her. Sometimes she would look down through them with numb interest. She had seen rooms that resembled 'bedrooms', but mainly, when there was light it meant she was over a hallway. She'd had the horrifying experience of seeing two giant robots walk beneath her just once, and she had stilled, not moving again until she could no longer hear their footsteps.

If she thought that was scary, she later found herself crawling alongside a large, well-lit space according to the light that filtered all the way down the long stretch of vent shaft. Glancing through a slat, she was shocked to find three of the large robots there, recognizing only the one she'd seen first. She was making a head-count now - and from the two robots earlier, this made five giant robots on the ship. She had no idea if there were more.

She was about to continue on as quietly as she could when one of the robots shifted, revealing the small robot she'd seen emerge from the pentagon, and it stood in the center of their circle. It was facing her, she realized, and in a moment it had her pinned with its glowing eyes. She quickly started forward again, trying not to make any noise but wanting to get out of the vicinity as fast as possible. She heard sounds like conversation flowing between the large bots, but recognized the high-pitched chirp from the smaller one, and she froze, glancing out once more in fear that it had alerted them to her presence. They all turned to look, and she quickly continued belly-crawling along the room toward the nearest turn.

Large footsteps reverberated through the space, and she did not look back even as she felt one approaching. She heard the hiss of a sliding door open as she turned the corner, slowing only slightly as she felt she was putting some distance between herself and _them_.

At some point, air began to flow through, blowing her hair around her face as she shivered. Nonetheless, she continued until she found she could go no further, the wind howling through her ears as she reached the spinning turbines that sent it throughout the ship.

However, to the right she could see the vent shaft widen until it was large enough that she could stand up, a large vent panel leading out which was likely put there for maintenance purposes.

Carefully creeping past the turbines, she stood, stretching her sore limbs as she placed her hands on the inside of the covering. Peering out the slats, there was only darkness, which meant there was probably no one, or _thing,_ out there.

It took her a few tries, but she managed to get the covering open by shoving her shoulder against it until it fell outward.

Cringing at the loud clatter, Nora remained frozen in the vent for a time before slowly crawling out into the dark space beyond. Except for the vibration of the ship's engine beneath her feet, all was silent.

Nora turned on her light, scanning the room which was empty except for the AC unit (why an alien robot's ship would need air conditioning, she did not know) and then headed toward what appeared to be a large door, obviously built to allow access for bodies much larger than her own.

As she was contemplating how to open it, stepping closer, it opened on its own, sliding to the side with a hiss and allowing light from outside to immediately flood in. Nora froze, prepared to be caught with no time to hide. However, the silence continued, and she began to relax a bit when she realized that there was no one there.

The door closed after a moment and Nora took another step, causing it to re-open. This time she wasn't as startled.

 _Automatic door, got it,_ she thought. _How convenient._

She stepped through quickly, not wanting to risk being crushed, and let her eyes adjust to the brightness outside. She found herself in a long hallway.

Shifting from foot to foot, she looked up and down the long passage in indecision. Which way would lead to an exit? And even if she found one, how would she escape if they were up in the air, or in outer space? Clenching her fists, she steeled her resolve. _One thing at a time._

There would be no place to hide if she were to run into one of _them_ out here, so she knew she would have to think and move quickly to avoid getting caught. After all, Nora had no idea what they'd do to a human who'd found her way onto their ship on accident, and she didn't want to find out.

Deciding on heading right for no other reason than that she felt it had been the direction she'd been going in the vents, Nora wandered down the hall. She hadn't gone far, however, when something caught her eye.

On the wall before her was a sign, and if the arrows on it were any hint, it appeared to be giving directions. Strange symbols appeared next to each arrow, letters or characters of a language she had never laid eyes on before. But what startled and relieved her the most was the appearance of English words as well, perhaps translations of the alien text.

 _...What kind of alien ship is this?_ She wondered vaguely, questioning her initial conclusion as she scanned the list of places the hall led to. When she found 'loading dock' on the list, Nora no longer cared to know the reason for the English, taking off toward the potential way out. She would hopefully not be on board long enough to get the answer.

* * *

Ratchet's brow plates furrowed in confusion, optics locked on the bemused-looking mini-con who stood on the command console. It was not the small bot he was currently addressing, however.

"You are telling me it was already free of its storage pod when you entered the bay?" he asked, optics flicking to Ironhide once more for confirmation.

"Yes," Ironhide vented. "I had not yet touched it."

"Is it truly something to be concerned about, Ratchet? Is it not possible that it woke up on its own?" Optimus asked. Ratchet's optics narrowed further.

"It simply leaves me feeling suspicious. I had believed that a mini-con would awaken only after making contact with a Cybertronian," he said, eyeing the little bot who was peering around the room as if searching for something. "And when they do, they will usually imprint on the bot who awakened them, their previous form and purpose erased as they restart with a new keeper. However, Ironhide claims that the mini-con has not shown him any preference, and he cannot see any use for it in terms of accommodating to Ironhide's form. I would have thought the mini-con would gain weaponry abilities, considering Ironhide's specialty, but its purpose is yet unknown," Ratchet continued, shaking his helm as he finished.

"Surely, something like this has happened before, right? The both of you have had your own mini-con partners who've matched your own traits. What was that like?" Ironhide asked, a touch of anxiety in his usually gruff voice.

"When we activated them, they had already taken on a purpose to match our own, compatible with our own forms. They were also rather attentive to us," Optimus explained, eyeing the little bot thoughtfully. The mini-con, however, simply stared at the wall behind them, moving its small optics along as if seeing something they could not. Suddenly it began to chirp, optics widening with excitement. The bots in the room turned to stare at the door in confusion, which the mini-con seemed to be looking toward.

"Perhaps Prowl or Bumblebee have returned from recharge?" Ratchet guessed.

"They only just went," Optimus said, moving toward the door. He opened it and peered out, but there was nothing to be seen.

Still, the little bot had its eyes trained on the wall behind them, and none of them could see any reason for it.

"...I think it's glitched," Ironhide vented. The three looked at each other with no small amount of befuddlement, before Ratchet's optics narrowed in thought.

"...Was there anything in the eastern hold that the mini-con seemed especially interested in?" Ratchet asked Ironhide suddenly. Ironhide shuttered his optics, focusing his processors on the memory.

"It was standing near a fallen tree when I found it," Ironhide said slowly. "However, it came when I called readily enough."

"Hmm, well that's something. I've only ever seen mini-cons activated by Cybertronians, but what if we are wrong to believe we are the only ones who can awaken them? We have never had the opportunity to test the theory, so how would we know?" He wondered aloud, and all optics fell on him, including the mini-con's.

"What, you think something organic could have done this?" Ironhide scoffed. "While I admit that the tree is not necessarily a _dead_ thing, it isn't exactly in need of companionship. And don't even suggest that it might have been some stray insect that activated _my mini-con_ ," he growled, perturbed at the very thought.

"Easy now old friend. All Ratchet is saying is that we've never encountered a mini-con on such a life-filled planet before. We cannot discount anything," Optimus soothed.

"It seems some investigation is in order," Ratchet continued, unbothered by Ironhide's outburst. "Why don't we go back to the eastern holding bay and see how the mini-con responds?" He suggested.

The three of them soon found themselves standing in the doorway, the same filthy scene before them that they saw on the video footage. The mini-con did not respond in any specific way, looking around with mild interest.

"You said you found him next to this tree here?" Ratchet said, moving to get a closer look. A scan began from his optics, a blue sheet of light covering the corner of the room before blinking out. There was a pause where they waited for him to speak, but he just stood in stunned silence for a moment, looking down at the tree with wide optics.

"...Slaggit," He cursed, turning around to view the rest of the room. He scanned once more, and cursed again before making his way toward the opposite end of the space.

"What did you find, Ratchet?" Optimus pressed, Ironhide following close behind the two as they moved toward the far wall.

"We have an extra sentient life aboard, it seems. A human," he said with a frustrated growl. They all froze then. "Their blood is on the floor there beneath the tree, but it seems their trip in the transport beam did not offline them. They crossed the room," he said, gesturing to a tiny, nearly unnoticeable line of footprints on the dusted floor before continuing, "and then made their way into the air vents. They could be anywhere by now," Ratchet said, and then fell silent.

They all remembered quite clearly their banishment from Earth a few years ago, the humans' thanks for the defense of their planet. The mini-cons latent arrival had been unexpected, but the Autobots had assumed they were either following the same path the Allspark had after escaping into space to run from the war, or had followed Optimus's transmission to Earth, no doubt not realizing the change of heart which took place on the planet during their long journey. Either way, it forced the Autobots to again return to the blue planet, this time in secret, in order to collect the mini-cons before leaving again.

And having a human aboard meant this plan had been compromised.

"What are your orders, Optimus sir?" Ironhide asked, a dangerous edge to his voice. "Do we terminate the human?" he ground out.

Optimus met his gaze evenly, feeling the bitter sense of betrayal just as his friend and fellow soldier did. But he was their leader, and he was not Megatron.

Moving his optics to the mini-con once more, he vented in a long sigh.

"No," he said finally. "We do not know if this was a purposeful infiltration, or an accident on our part. Let us first find this human, see if it is the one who activated our mini-con here. And then we must discover the human's intentions for coming here. After that, we will decide what to do with it," he finished.

"Wouldn't surveillance have picked up on another lifeform moving around the ship?" Ironhide asked, suddenly hopeful. Optimus vented at this.

"No. I had Prowl switch them to sentry mode to conserve power, only recording when they detect movement. Unfortunately, organics are not perceived as a threat. One would not have been picked up," He finished sourly.

"I have an idea, sir," Ratchet spoke up then, still examining the air vent on the far side of the room. "If it is in the vents, why not use the AC system we had installed for the humans? They are sensitive in the change of temperature. I believe once they become cold, they will remove themselves eventually," he proposed.

Optimus nodded. "Good idea. The control mainframe should still be hooked to the human life support systems. See if they are still functional," he instructed.

"We are nearing the base now," Ironhide added. "Isn't it a bad idea to land?" He asked.

"Give notice of our arrival to Jazz and then land, but keep all exits locked. We do not leave the ship until the human is found. Ironhide, wake Bumblebee and Prowl and brief them on the situation. Ratchet, turn on full surveillance around the ship, including any opening or closing of doors. Eventually, the human should activate one." Optimus ordered.

"Understood."

* * *

The entrance to the loading dock had been a lot farther away than she had anticipated. Nora had continued following the signs down the hallway, and although it had only been a few minutes, her anxiety began to creep up on her again, the twitchy sense of paranoia overcoming her and her legs carried her faster and faster until she was in a full sprint. She had arrived at the entrance only minutes later, breathless.

The door did not open for her, however, and she spent a few moments examining it before her eyes found a panel high above her head. It was right where a door knob should be, and if she could make an educated guess, Nora would say that that was probably what it was.

Before she could do anything else, however, the whole ship seemed to jolt with a heavy _thud_ , and Nora stumbled, losing her balance and falling to her knees. Moments after she felt the engine cut, and she lifted her head in excitement. Nora would have wept with joy if she'd had more time to think on it, but the point was that they'd _landed_. And Nora felt that it was just in time.

Looking back up at the door, she tried the first thing that came to mind as her eyes went back to the panel. Taking off a shoe, she decided to try her luck with a well-aimed throw at the thing. She missed the first, but the second landed solidly, and she felt surprised when it actually worked; the door to the loading dock slid open with a hiss, and when she saw nothing but empty darkness inside, she scampered through.

 _Almost out,_ her mind cried, and she saw the ramp leading to the outside sealed tight against the ceiling. She peered around the room, looking for any kind of button or switch that might make it open up. From what little light filtered in from the hall, she could make out a control box of sorts on the wall in one corner, and she headed towards it without hesitation. She would have to wing it to figure out how to open the door, but she figured she'd made it this far by the seat of her pants - surely, she could overcome the last obstacle and get out without detection.

Caught up in her own excitement, Nora almost didn't notice when a shadow suddenly moved behind her. She whirled around just in time to see the doors sliding shut, casting her into darkness once more.

Frazzled, she backed up while turning her head from side to side in an attempt to see through the unyielding darkness.

 _Nothing there,_ she half-prayed, digging for her phone as she strained her eyes. Surely the door had just shut on its own?

Finally removing the device from her back pocket, she struggled with shaking hands to turn on the light function. When it flickered to life, the first thing she noticed was the giant pillar of metal that hadn't been there before. Nora flinched backward, lifting her light to see where it went with no small amount of dread in her heart. Her light followed the pillar up until she was met with a pair of glowing eyes, and she could not stop the scream that left her mouth as she leapt backward, dropping her phone as she went.

Her back hit against something hard and warm as she stumbled, and she felt metal coil around her as her feet left the ground. Her lungs had already quit, and she was unable even to scream as she clenched her teeth, trying to handle the force of the sudden up-lift.

The lights came on then, revealing just what had her in complete clarity.

"Gotcha," it stated in perfect English. Horror was written across her face as she looked at its own in a terrified stupor. Nora vaguely wondered if anyone would ever find out what happened to her, or if her parents and grandma would have any closure. She had made a terrible mistake in going after that 'meteorite', and now she'd pay with her life.

"No way," She cried, head falling forward as she screwed her eyes shut tight, making herself as small as possible. " _No_ ," she whimpered again desperately.

"Eh? A femme?" The robot said, though it didn't seem to be a question. The thing tilted its head at her in examination while lifting the hand holding her closer to its face. It seemed to sigh then. "Aw, slaggit. It's just a little femme," he said the words again, but Nora could not understand them.

"Now, alright. It's no use crying. Why don't you just tell me if you touched my mini-con?" He prompted, but Nora was only led further into confusion by his words.

"W-what…?" She managed, lifting her head a bit, and then immediately regretting it. The little robot had left her mind, and there was no way for her to connect the dots then. She felt she was near hyperventilation, hoping that if it was going to end, it would end quickly.

The robot seemed to sigh again. "Slag it all to pit," he began, and then his speech changed back into the whirring and trilling she'd heard before.

* * *

Ironhide had been more than ready to tear the human who'd allegedly activated his mini-con limb from limb. On a hunch, he made his way to the loading dock, wondering if the human was smart enough to find its way there.

He had spotted it almost immediately, standing at the entrance and looking at it carefully. It had long orangish hair and wore practical, loose-fitting coverings on its small frame. Certainly not a formidable-looking human, Ironhide decided, even in organic terms.

However, the human's efforts to enter the loading dock would yield no results, he knew. The door to the loading dock was heavily secured, requiring an autobot's energy signature present to open it in case of invasion. He could open it remotely so long as he was nearby, and he debated on whether or not to allow the human entrance. After he felt them land, it seemed the human had become even more frantic. It came up with the stupid idea of throwing its ped covering at the security panel and he made his decision, taking the opportunity to open the door for it and effectively cornering the human as it went inside.

The hardest part was sneaking up on it, but he knew how to be silent when necessary. He could see the human in the dark even though it could not see him, and he reached out a servo, wrapping it around the back of the human so he could snatch it up. It was fiddling with its light source, no doubt catching a glimpse of him before falling right into his open palm.

Prepared to interrogate the human as a stowaway and a thief, he was not expecting it to begin crying out like a frightened sparkling. Examining it closer, he realized the human was a femme - at least, if the long hair on her helm and the pitch of her voice were anything to go by. But her body, too, seemed slimmer and softer than the male soldiers he had learned to recognize. Ironhide had met very few human femmes aside from Michaela whom he'd interacted with very briefly, Major Lennox's sparkmate who he'd seen on the occasion where he'd take the man home, along with his daughter who was too young to be a good representation. He definitely had never been in such close proximity with one before.

Ironhide vented in frustration, trying to remind himself that this human had potentially stolen the companionship he was promised with the mini-con.

 _Not to mention the chance that it could be an act, and she is actually an infiltrator,_ he thought doubtfully.

He tried asking her questions, tried interrogating her for answers, but she only seemed frightened, becoming more confused as he went on. She would not even look at him.

"Slag it all to pit," he growled before switching to Cybertronian, speaking through the comms. "I've located and obtained the human. I'm heading to the medbay. Someone come and get it from me," he snapped, his irritation crossing the lines to his comrades and his leader. He headed for the door then, making his way out into the hall with the human in tow.

" _What's its condition?_ " He heard Ratchet question.

"Being noisy and leaking optic fluid all over my servo," he growled, shooting an uneasy glance at the girl before continuing. "...And real frightened. It's not lifting its helm anymore," he added, shaking the girl gently. Aside from her small hands gripping his own tighter, there was no response. "Also, I think it might be a femme."

" _A girl, you say?"_ Ratchet prompted. " _I'll be right over."_

" _Me, too!"_ Came another voice through the comm. Ironhide recognized Bumblebee immediately and sighed.

"Good. You're good with humans. Come ask this one what it did to my mini-con," he said, but he felt deflated, not able to put much anger into his words as he eyed the femme a bit worriedly now.

" _Does it appear that she is an infiltrator?"_ The Prime asked then, and he could hear the apprehension through his leader's voice.

"...If I could hazard a guess, and I'm no expert," Ironhide started, lifting her to optic level once more, "I'd say she isn't." The girl responded by placing her hands over her face in avoidance.

* * *

 **An interesting note about the mini-cons - I have seen Armada, YEARS ago when I was a little kid. But I don't remember much about them, except that the Autobots went after them and that they helped out. I made up the stuff about the way their bonds worked and whatnot, and after I'd written this chapter I got curious and looked up the actual lore; and it turns out, I was spot-on. I am in absolute disbelief, how I described it is pretty much how it works in canon, too! A few quotes from the Transformers wiki articles I read:**

 **"In some respects, the panels had something of a "reset" program attached to them. When a Mini-Con was awakened from their panel, their built-in "servility program" kicked in, forming a mental bond to the being that released them from the panel, regardless of their mental state and programming directives before they entered the panel."**

 **"As the Mini-Cons had been designed to form mental bonds with other life forms, when Rad touched the Mini-Con who he knew….as High Wire, High Wire apparently formed his bond then, with Rad…"**

 **It works a bit differently in my story, at least where the human "imprinting" is concerned. That bit of information will come out later :)**

 **Anyway, I hope you guys have a great week - whether you're at work or at school or whathaveyou - and that your preoccupations are fulfilling.**

 **Until next time!**

 **-PK**


	3. Welcome Aboard

**Hello! Sorry for the super late update. But here is chapter 3 at last. I'll write down some music I listened to as I wrote this chapter, but during my edits I had Undertale's OST "Ruins" on repeat as I went through this... oh man, that game has the BEST music. Definitely recommend. Anywho, please enjoy :)**

* * *

Nora was still trapped frozen in the thing's grip, too frightened to lift her head, when she felt them moving. She remained hunched over, gripping the robot's fingers in shock as they moved into the light of the hall.

Shortly after, the hand she was in opened, tipping to the side so that she was suddenly slipping from the metal even as she scrambled for a handhold. She landed with a _thud_ on a see-through surface, like glass, and was unnerved to see the ground far below her beneath her feet. She looked up in alarm, finding herself in a clear, squarish jar-like container and still being held in one of the robot's hands.

It was staring down at her now, and if she didn't know any better she'd say its face looked unhappy. Nora immediately scrambled backward as far as the container would allow, placing her arms in front of her face once more as she tried her best to hide. Her mind had already shut down, her courage fleeing her as she felt fear and a need for cover move into the forefront of her priority list.

The thing above her let out something that sounded like a sigh, and she could hear movement in the room beyond. Voices mingled indistinctly around her in the small space, and her mind vaguely recognized English in the mix. But the blood pumping through her ears drowned out everything, her nails digging into her scalp as she remained hunched in her position against the far side of the jar away from the other beings in the room.

 _What's going to happen to me..?_ her mind cried, and she trembled. A voice was heard over her head then, like a soft 'hey,' but she didn't respond. After a moment, she heard it again.

When she remained silent, something nudged her side, and Nora immediately moved away from it as quickly as she could. Another nudge on her shoulder was felt then on her opposite side, and she put her hands up to block the prodding. But the next push was firmer as it knocked her onto her side and rolled her to her back, lifting only to press into her abdomen. She screeched at that, looking up to see a long appendance reaching in at her from the top of the jar. At the sound, the thing retracted quickly, and the vision was replaced with the face of a different robot staring down at her with its large blue eyes. It appeared to be holding her jar in one hand, the other hovering over the top as it looked down at her, seemingly concerned.

The majority of its face was a bright yellow, as was what Nora could see of its body.

"Sorry, I thought you couldn't hear me. You okay?" It asked her. She flinched at the sudden loudness of its voice speaking directly into her small space. Nora didn't answer at first, just looked up at it between her fingers. It waited patiently for a bit before adding, "You don't have to stay all curled like that, you know."

"...Please let me go, I didn't mean to come here," she said weakly, letting her hair fall in front of her hands. She was beginning to feel somewhat sick. The yellow robot seemed to blink before glancing up. Another robot face appeared then, taking her from the yellow one. It was significantly taller and she felt herself being lifted up as it examined her. She stared back at it, unable to look away this time as it addressed her.

"Hello, human," the robot said, its deep voice making her want to cover her ears as the sound reverberated. "What is your name?" It asked. What she could see of its face was blue and silver, and it had large protrusions sticking up on either side of its head like horns.

"...Nora," she squeaked without thinking, her hands gripping each other from behind her bent knees.

"Nora," he repeated. "Last name?"

"Kennedy," she responded automatically. He nodded.

"Miss Kennedy, I must ask you now what you are doing aboard our ship?"

Nora shuddered. Its voice and gaze were unavoidable as she cowered in the small space, unsure of what to say.

"I-I got pulled up," she stammered, not knowing how else to describe it.

"So it would seem. But did you come aboard intentionally? And if so, for what purpose?" the robot asked her, not letting its eyes stray from her.

"I didn't - mean to!" She said, swallowing as her voice broke part way through. "I went to see the fallen star..." she mumbled weakly, trying to recall her initial reason for being there in the first place. It felt like a long time ago. "I saw it go down across the river," she finished, the bit of detail not serving any real purpose other than to possibly give her story more credence.

The robot did not respond to her explanation straight away, but it glanced up from her at something above her field of view. She heard the foreign sounds of their tongue then, and knew one of the others was speaking. It soon had its eyes fixed on her again, its steady gaze unnerving her.

"Are there any others with you?" it asked then. Nora shook her head in the negative, not wanting to speak again. It seemed to be enough, and its gaze lifted once again as she was suddenly being passed off once more. The new face she was met with was a bright green in color, its wide-set eyes looking in at her critically before glancing back up at the last robot.

"I cannot tell if she is lying or not while her heart beats so erratically," it told the other in English. But Nora knew there was no remedying that. She was _scared_. There was no way her heart wouldn't be racing.

"I want to go home," she whimpered, burying her face in her arms and knees once more. She heard another voice in the room grumble, "not this again," but did not know which of the robots had said it.

"I am afraid we must detain you for awhile, Miss Kennedy. Your fate will be decided when your intentions have been made clear, or else proven to not have intentions at all." Nora recognized the voice as the tallest robot again. The words were spoken in a straight-forward way and without maliciousness, but there was no softness to them, either. No room for argument.

Suddenly they were moving again, heading away from the loading dock she had been going after. It seemed she would be remaining on the ship.

They moved through a door into a new space, Nora only vaguely aware of her surroundings as they went. But soon her "jar" was being tipped, and she found herself on her stomach against the glass.

Moving to her knees, she glanced up to see the green robot holding her jar, and it said something she couldn't hear. It nodded its head forward and she followed its gaze to the top of the jar. It was telling her to exit.

Slowly at first, Nora did so, moving out timidly as if worried the robot was tricking her. But as soon as she was most of the way out, she darted quickly into the next space and away from the robot and the jar.

It took her a moment to realize she was in a holding cell of some sort. The door shut with a _clang_ behind her, and she turned to see the creature standing back up on the other side of the bars. It looked down at her for a few moments more before shaking its head and turning to leave.

And just like that, Nora was alone. It did nothing to soothe her nerves as she peered around the space, which was equipped with a human-sized bed (although there were no sheets) and a toilet in the corner, which she was in need of. On the wall above the bed was an engraving of a robotic-looking face - as if Nora needed a reminder of what she was dealing with.

She used the toilet as quickly as possible and then retreated to the bed. When she set her hand upon the mattress she quickly discovered that it was coated with a thick layer of fine dust, and she sneezed as it wafted up off the surface.

Wrinkling her nose, Nora lifted it, flipping it over and dragging it back into place so that the clean side was on top. She was about to settle onto it when she thought of her phone in her back pocket again, and her hand moved back reflexively. But it was gone, and she suddenly remembered.

 _I dropped it_.

Tears filled her eyes and spilled onto her cheeks then, and she wiped them away as she sniffled and hiccupped, settling onto the bed with her back against the wall and knees against her chest. All she could do then was wait for whatever was supposed to happen, and her dark, watery eyes peered out past the bars toward the door beyond where one of the robots could enter through at any point.

Sitting in the space with low-lighting, Nora's situation felt more like a dream than ever, and as time passed and her crying ceased, her body finally began to relax as exhaustion and the need for sleep's escape caught up with her. Her lids grew heavy as she sat motionless in the dim cell, and with one last thought, her head fell into her knees as sleep took her.

 _I hope Nan isn't too worried_.

* * *

The mini-con stood outside the entrance to the human detainment block, a small part of the ship none of the autobots had had to use since the ship's construction nearly 5 years before.

 _And we never thought we would, either,_ Ironhide thought with a grumble. The little bot had wandered off as they had been searching for their human stow-away, taking advantage of the brief lack of supervision. It hadn't taken Ironhide long to locate him, trailing Ratchet who'd taken the human femme to the holding cell.

Ratchet emerged back into the hall as they approached, empty Energon pitcher in his servo, and nearly stepped on the mini-con who had headed for the door without hesitation. It darted out of the way of the impending ped even as Ratchet side-stepped, looking down at the bot in surprise.

"Hold on there, little one. Where do you think you're going?" He asked, and Ironhide stepped forward to intervene, blocking the little bot as the doors shut. The mini-con's optics did not leave the door, however, peering into the room beyond until the doors covered the view of the cell inside. "What's it doing here?" Ratchet asked, looking up. Ironhide vented.

"Following you, I assume."

"Not me, I should think," Ratchet added, watching the mini-con with interest.

"...Could be just curious," Ironhide offered weakly. Ratchet's optics rose to the gruff bot's, his brow plates lifting as he gave a look of amused skepticism.

Ironhide scowled.

"We could test the theory," Ratchet went on, "but later, when the femme has calmed and after I have questioned her more thoroughly. For now, we will let her rest." There was a long pause as Ironhide seemed to have something to add, and Ratchet waited patiently, already guessing what the bot might say. Finally, he spit it out.

"...The way she glitched upon being caught… do you believe she is a spy?" He asked. Ratchet's optics darkened minisculely.

"The humans have been known to be a crafty species. I will need more evidence than just our initial assessment," he stated. The large bot shifted uncomfortably before him.

"If that's the case, then I wish to vaporize the fragging human myself. But as much as I hope for that outcome… if she is innocent, can we - do we still offline her?" Ironhide asked, attempting to keep his faceplates neutral.

As Ratchet observed the mech, he wondered if those words would sound hopeful to anyone else's audio receptors. To him, they sounded unsure, and he wondered if Ironhide, even after... _everything_...still had sympathy for the race of beings that were _humans_.

Ratchet's faceplates bent into the barest ghost of a bitter smile as he observed the gruff bot a moment more.

"My first impression leads me to agree with you," Ratchet told him, nodding his helm. "But I still must assess her. We must be sure."

"And then what? We send her home?" Ironhide asked. _Not to mention, what will happen to the mini-con if it truly_ has _imprinted on the human?_

"That...will be the Prime's decision," Ratchet responded after a moment. "The girl knowing of us jeopardizes our mission here. To release her may be an unwise decision," he admitted.

Ironhide nodded in agreement, looking down at the mini-con once more. It was standing with a servo on the door, and as he looked at it it turned its helm toward him. Its optics met his own and he saw the bright expression on its faceplates that it always seemed to wear.

Ironhide vented. _What a mess._

"Sorry, little one. I don't know if going in there is a good idea right now," he said, stooping down to pluck up the small bot. It trilled at him but did not protest, looking back at the door with curiosity. Ironhide wondered what it might be feeling, if it was confused at why the being who'd (allegedly) activated it could not be reached.

He had first seen the activated mini-con standing by the tree, which had turned out to be the femme's hiding spot, so surely they had already met.

 _No,_ he realized, _the human would definitely have avoided him._

He scoffed at the thought. It was all terribly unfair.

* * *

It wasn't until later that evening when Ratchet decided it was time to make contact with the human once more, if not to see if she was calm and ready to speak, but also to provide her with food.

By then all but one of the Autobots who'd remained on the base had come aboard the ship in curiosity, the additions of Jazz, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker making the room crowded as they gathered at the helm of the ship.

"Why didn't you bring her into the base? It's cramped in here," Sideswipe complained.

"Idiot. The base isn't equipped to support organic lifeforms," Sunstreaker told his brother. Ironhide rolled his optics at the two.

"Shut it, both of you. You're the ones who were curious and insisted on seeing the human for yourselves," he snapped at the brothers.

"Hey, Jazz got to come aboard no problem when he asked! And Mirage said he'd look after the base. Not to mention, we're _always_ the ones who are told to stay back while you guys get to go scout. A little fun messing with the humans couldn't hurt," Sunstreaker retorted.

"Jazz is the _first lieutenant_ , dumbaft. And you two terrors cause a ruckus wherever you go. We are on the _down low_ here, if you don't recall," Ironhide snapped. Sunstreaker scowled.

"Aw bro, taking care of the base is an important job, too. Besides, even if we don't get to mess with the other humans, it doesn't mean we can't mess with this one since she already knows about us," Sideswipe told him gently, trying to ease the hot-tempered mech. Ironhide growled, ready to remind the two that they were no longer on friendly terms with the humans and, at the moment, this one was no exception. However, Ratchet entered the room then with his arms full of human supplies and interrupted their conversation.

"Took me forever to find the human stash underneath all that junk you two insisted on bringing," he griped, giving the twins a hard look. Ironhide looked at the two exasperatedly.

 _So that's where they've been keeping all their "souvenirs",_ he realized. The twins had an annoying habit of picking up "treasures" along the way during their travels - useless items mostly, junk in Ironhide's opinion - and he'd wondered where it all ended up.

"Nobody was using the space. No harm done," Sideswipe countered weakly, and he had the gall to look sheepish. Ratchet did not comment but to vent in annoyance, moving past them toward the hall leading to the human detainment wing.

Before he'd made it out, a sound stopped him and he turned back around. The mini-con, standing on the control console once more, watched him with interest and another trill left his voice box.

"Ah, that's right. I promised, didn't I?" Ratchet spoke up, backpedaling and leaning down so that the mini-con could crawl onto his shoulder. "Perhaps she'll be more willing to accept this from you, anyway," Ratchet thought aloud, heading toward the door once more.

"You mean you're gonna let the mini-con see the human and we're not even allowed to peek through the door?" Sunstreaker complained, and Ratchet didn't turn around as he responded.

"You'll have your time. But for now, no. If the girl really _is_ a spy, it's better if she doesn't know how many of us there are."

Sunstreaker's frustrated huff was the last thing Ratchet heard as the door shut behind him, heading down the short corridor to where the human femme was being kept. The mini-con perched lightly on his shoulder, hydraulics in his legs allowing him to balance unbothered on Ratchet's shoulder even as the walking movement jostled him. Ratchet realized then how long it had been since he'd had a being that small on his shoulder - he had carried several human allies that way during the Autobots' time on earth, although the humans would usually cling to the side of his helm as he walked.

 _It's been even longer since I've carried a mini-con, though,_ he mused. They were truly quite capable creatures in comparison.

Arriving at the door to the human holding cell, he leaned down for the mini-con to jump off. It landed deftly on the floor, and Ratchet crouched before it then to offer it some of the preserved human sustenance.

"Will you take this to the human? I will wait here," Ratchet told the little bot. It looked up at him with an eager expression, optics brightening as it accepted the food from Ratchet. Then, it turned towards the door and waited patiently to enter. Ratchet watched it with bemusement for a moment before turning as well to open the secured door.

Like the door to the loading dock, this one required an autobot's energy signature to gain access to the other side - no matter which side one was on. When the door slid open with a hiss, he caught sight of the girl sitting on the human-sized berth, head bent into her knees in sleep. The scene lasted merely half a nano-click before she straightened, head shooting up so quickly it nearly hit the wall behind her.

Her eyes darted around the space which was no doubt rather dim to her human vision, barely skimming over the mini-con as it wandered into the room before locking onto Ratchet. He made no move to enter, however, remaining still in the doorway to watch over the two.

The mini-con was standing in front of her cell before she'd even realized it, and she flinched when one of its "hands" tapped on a bar, eyes shooting to it in alarm.

 _Jumpy little thing,_ Ratchet thought. _Reminds me of another human youth we met. Seems like such long time ago now._

Quickly deleting the thought from his processor before he could dredge up too many bad feelings, Ratchet brought his attention back to the scene before him. There was no use in reminiscing.

Nora felt panic build in her chest as she felt herself being observed, not enjoying the attention and wondering what they were doing. The little robot was reaching between the bars now, holding something in its little metal claw. She made no move to go and see what it was, and was suddenly grateful for the cage that imprisoned her.

Nora flinched when suddenly the little robot tossed what he was holding at her, and she scrambled off the side of the bed away from it, nearly falling in the process. She watched in alarm as the item hit the floor with a heavy sound before skidding across the floor toward her, but recognition quickly set in as her eyes caught the familiar logo on the front.

 _It's food,_ she realized, eyeing the can of stew in surprise. Quickly glancing back up, the little robot was still there, holding something else out this time as it watched her patiently. Behind it, the big robot who'd brought her into the cell still stood unmoving except for its glowing blue eyes. Nora furrowed her brows, confusion and anxiety mixing inside of her stomach as she decided on her next move. It seemed as if they were leaving it for her to make, after all.

Kneeling a bit, she scooped the can up and clasped it between her hands near her stomach, not taking her eyes off of them. She saw the large robot in the doorway nod his head, and then the little robot made a sound akin to a metallic "chirp". It was waving the arm in her cell at her now, and she got the message.

Tentatively, Nora made her way over and looked at what it was holding out to her. A water bottle was pinched in the robot's grasp, and she reached out, holding her breath as she took it from him. Her hand did not make contact with the robot at all as she pulled back. It made another high-pitched chirping noise and lowered its arm, although it did not step away or stop looking at her.

Nobody moved then, and Nora was left wondering what to do now that she had taken the food from them. She went with her instinct, trying to appear unthreatening to the beings who, from what she'd heard them say to her before, seemed suspicious of her being there to begin with. Considering that she was caught and at their mercy now, it was her only tactic left.

"...Thanks," she said quietly, watching for a response from either. The little robot just continued watching her with interest, but she saw the larger one shift a bit.

"You're welcome, young one," the voice said suddenly, resonating throughout the echoing metal room. Nora tried not to flinch.

When a few more moments passed without event, Nora steeled her will.

 _If I try to use reason,_ she thought, _maybe I can explain my situation._ With the fleeting courage leftover from the successful and surprisingly civilized encounter, Nora spoke up again.

"I didn't mean to bother you...all," she said, cringing a bit as she tried to articulate while attempting to keep the nervousness out of her voice. "I think there's been a mistake. I just wanted to see what fell from the sky, and then...I got pulled up into, I guess, your ship...?" She paused, and without seeing any real indication telling her whether or not she should continue, she finished softly. "I just want to go home now," she tried.

The large robot inclined its head in her direction as it listened, and when she was through it did not take long to respond.

"That seems to be the case," the being told her. "Unfortunately, it is of the utmost importance that our presence on your planet remains concealed from humans. Even if you are not a spy, which, while unlikely, still must be proven, it jeopardizes our mission if we allow you to leave with the knowledge of our existence." Nora felt her breathing quicken as she took in the meaning of the robots words, but her response was interrupted as it continued speaking. Perhaps it sensed her distress, because its next words were of reassurance.

"Calm down, young one. It will ultimately be left to our leader to decide whether or not to detain you. However, you likely have nothing to fear, so long as your intentions are as you say. Perhaps after we finish conducting our business on your planet, you will be free to resume your life," it told her.

 _Perhaps?_ Nora thought, feeling uncertain.

Left with only the hope that that was the truth, Nora was hit then with an extra realization that they were, indeed, aliens. From another _planet_.

Though, if Nora had ever really thought of what aliens might be like, robots certainly wouldn't be what she imagined.

"Okay. I understand," she responded quietly, even though it was an absolute lie. But Nora thought better of arguing for the moment, as it didn't seem like the decision was for certain yet. Instead, she used his light reassurance to ask a question. "Then, what are you all, exactly…?" His eyes narrowed momentarily, so quickly she wondered if she imagined it.

"We are a type of lifeform which, in your terms, would be described as 'robotic' rather than organic like yourself. However, we are not robots as you know them. We are sentient, sapient, and certainly not artificial or built by another species," it told her, as if reading her mind. "We are Cybertronians - our mother planet was the planet Cybertron."

"Ah, I see," she said, unsure of how to respond as she took in its words. The being seemed adamant that she know they were _not_ robots. Nora thought it might be a subject of offense and decided to make a mental note of it so that she wouldn't slip up later. She also noticed its use of the past-tense when referring to their planet, but felt she couldn't ask.

When it seemed clear she understood, it continued speaking.

"You may call me Ratchet. I am the head medical officer of the Autobots, the team of mechs aboard this ship. Some of whom you've met," it said. She stared at him blankly, and Ratchet sighed, realizing he was probably explaining too quickly.

"All Cybertronians aboard this ship are Autobots," the creature clarified. "The symbol upon the wall behind you belongs to the Autobots." Nora glanced up at it again, but the being continued to speak.

"Our team of Autobots is is made up of 'mechs', which is equivalent in many ways to what you would recognize as the 'male' sex. Your gender would be what we could call a 'femme' in Cybertronian, a word you may have heard but not understood before. That is, of course, not how we say the words in our own language but they are more precise English translations than male and female would have been, what with our systems involving more complex reproductive methods and..." The creature blathered on, but Nora only managed to grasp that it was telling her _it_ was actually a _he_. His vocabulary grew more complicated and Nora was no longer following the long-winded explanation. However, he seemed to be enjoying himself, and amusement licked at the edges of her own confusion.

 _I guess he_ did _call himself a medic_ , she thought.

"Okay, got it. Ratchet," she said, repeating his name. He gave a sound of confirmation and then, feeling sure she was beginning to feel more comfortable with her questions having been answered, his voice became serious.

"Now, I would like to ask you some questions as well," he said, and it wasn't a question. Nora nodded, not missing the change in tone. It was time to plead her case.

* * *

 **To be continued!**

 **Sorry, there was no good place to cut this chapter off (otherwise I was looking at close to 10,000 words in this chapter! Sorry guys, I just can't release one chapter that disproportionately large).  
** **Anyway, Nora is about to get a bunch of answers in the next chapter. As are we! Woohoo!**

 **Here are a couple songs I've been listening to, though they are definitely my electronica-lover taste...**

 **By Savant:  
Cry for Love (Protos Album)  
Rise Up  
Heartbreakers  
Fire**

 **Avicii: Feeling Good**

 **Anyway, I hope you all are doing well, and that whatever you're up to these days is fulfilling - be it with school, work, or anything else. Please review if you're feeling up to it, I'd love the feedback. Thanks for reading!**

 **-PK**


	4. Intentions

**Hello! Finally back with more. I've written far enough into the future of this story that I can feel comfortable posting this as a consistant and stable chapter, if that makes sense. Sorry for the wait, but there's never been a real schedule.**

 **On we go!**

* * *

Ratchet moved forward, stepping fully into the room and allowing the door to slide shut behind him. Nora was hesitant at first, the proximity of the large being not exactly comfortable but the cell added some peace of mind as he crouched before it, looking at her from between the bars.

"First off, your name. You have said your name is Nora Kennedy, is this correct?" He asked her.

"Yes," she replied, moving backward onto the bed and leaning back against the wall. Sitting was probably the best option at that point.

"However, I could not find an identity matching your description in the human databases. Is Nora Kennedy your full name?" He asked then. Nora felt flustered suddenly, hoping he had not taken the use of her nickname as a reason for suspicion. She clarified quickly.

"No, my full name is Eleonora Wright Kennedy," she said. "I just go by Nora. Nobody calls me Eleonora. I forget sometimes that it's my full name," she babbled frantically, cringing at herself. But Ratchet just nodded, as if he already knew.

"Yes, this name came up when I ran facial recognition. I only needed to clarify," he told her. Nora knew she'd be pissed if she wasn't so relieved. He'd already known her name. "Now then, how old are you?"

"Nineteen." She wondered why he bothered asking if he had all of her information already, but didn't question him. He nodded in acknowledgement once more.

"I would like to ask you about this mini-con now, the one you found when you got caught in our ship's tractor beam," the mech said, gesturing to the smaller bot. As Nora looked at it, it moved its gaze from Ratchet to her as well, letting out a small sound when it noticed the eye contact.

She wasn't entirely sure what a 'tractor beam' was, but she guessed he was talking about the invisible force that pulled her up.

"Mini-con. Okay. It...he? Fell from the sky," she said a bit awkwardly, not wanting to offend anyone with objectification.

"Mini-cons are neither mech nor femme, as they do not populate the way my or your species do, by the joining of a couple. However, many will take on more...effeminate or masculine characteristics or forms, which often genders them in the eyes of others. Although many also remain ungendered," Ratchet explained, not missing her slip-up. "In Cybertronian, our language, we have ways of referring to beings who are genderless. But since English does not, it may be best to give the mini-con a definitive pronoun."

She was surprised he'd caught onto her confusion so quickly. _Pretty keen for an alien,_ Nora thought, and she wondered if they had encountered humans before to have such savvy social skills. A question she would have to ask later.

"Seems like a he to me," she commented with a glance at the small bot, and the mini-con's eyes brightened at the attention. Ratchet hummed as he observed it as well, nodding his helm.

"It leads me to wonder what _his_ purpose is, then," Ratchet said, his gaze moving from the mini-con back to Nora. "Normally it would be apparent. So tell me, when you found the mini-con storage pod, did you awaken it? And if so, how?" He asked.

Nora blinked at him in confusion, looking between the small bot and Ratchet. " _Awaken_ him? I - no. I mean, maybe? Was the storage pod shaped like this?" Nora asked, drawing a pentagon in the air with her hands. Ratchet nodded.

"When it is touched by a Cybertronian, the mini-con inside will activate and bond with the one who has it in his or her possession," Ratchet went on. "So I suppose I should ask this way; Did you touch the mini-con before it left its pod?" He asked, his voice becoming serious.

Nora suddenly felt nervous, like a child who was caught writing on the wall. _What do I do? Should I lie? He said they wouldn't hurt me, but what does it mean if I'm the one who woke up the damned robot?!_

Her mind was spinning in turmoil and she swallowed, debating on what the tell the giant alien who could crush her with his foot. How was she supposed to know not to touch it?

"...Is it bad if I did? I mean, doesn't it only respond to - to your kind?" She asked tentatively. He seemed to sigh, shifting a bit and she fidgeted.

"Well, to my knowledge, nothing like this has ever happened before," he told her. "There has never been a known instance where the mini-cons have encountered a sapient species other than Cybertronians. There would have been no way to tell if they are only compatible bonding with our kind," Ratchet finished. "It would be the easiest explanation from what I've seen, however. Especially with how he is so attentive to you."

Nora's train of thought halted as she took in his implications.

"...Wait, attentive? How does - no, I mean, what does that even mean? If I'm the one who woke him up, does that mean he's gonna follow me around or something...?" She asked, not even sure what her question really _was_ at that point. "I'm definitely _not_ bonded to him. I mean, he's - he's a - " she started, trying to find a word that wasn't _robot_. " - an _alien_ , so..."

Ratchet shook his head, seeming to sigh again. Nora cringed.

"Unimportant. No, according to him, you _are_ his partner," Ratchet insisted. "Your opinion is of no matter and, it would seem, your species as well. I strongly believe that he has bonded to you."

Nora glanced back at the mini-con, eyes wide. He chirped at her, lifting a metal arm to grip at the bars again and tilting his head at the acknowledgement.

 _Ohhh no, no way no way._ Nora wanted to laugh, running a hand down over her face as she fought her own anxiety. An uncomfortable feeling was digging a hole in her stomach. _I'm too freaked to even go near any of them, much less have one actively trying to follow me._

"I just _touched_ it," she argued, looking away from the mini-con. "That's _all_. I didn't shake it or move it, I just put my hand on it."

"It is enough when we do it - just a bit of contact is enough for one to be brought online, although I'll admit that for us it does involve a bit more...intention. Of course, it doesn't _always_ work, even for our kind. In the past, mini-cons have been known to not activate for Cybertronians they cannot assist. And considering that your body and brain are organic, I wouldn't have thought it possible for a mini-con to be activated by something… _someone_ without an electronic signature like we possess, someone unable to convey their 'intention' to the mini-con. To begin with, their scanners aren't compatible with human anatomy, rendering them unable to detect the capabilities of a potential partner in humans anyway," Ratchet told her. But then his gaze became contemplative, shifting to stare at her form below him as he continued.

"But regardless of all that I know of their species… only the facts remain here. And it would seem that this one, somehow, believed he had something to offer _you_."

Nora let the comment hang in the air, and although Ratchet was still watching her, it didn't feel like he was really speaking to her. But his expression, to her relief, was more contemplative than critical, and she tried to relax under the stare. Clearing her throat, she attempted to push past the silence, feeling that it was her turn to say something.

"Well… I mean, like you said, I'm human. I can't really do anything with it- _him_ , even if he _did_ decide to wake up for me," she said. "So then, can't you like, put him back to sleep and let someone else wake him up again, or…?" she inquired, her mind going back to the frightening black robot - er, mech - who had initially caught her. He had been asking her about the mini-con, although at the time she hadn't known what he meant.

" _Why don't you just tell me if you touched my mini-con?"_

Nora shuddered, remembering the demand she had had no hope of answering. Would that one be angry and come kill her when Ratchet left?

"Primus, Ironhide wishes we could," Ratchet said, and Nora flinched as his comment coincided with the question she'd posed in her thoughts. He let out a sound Nora thought might be a chuckle. "Originally, this mini-con was supposed to be his," he admitted, but perhaps seeing Nora's discomfort he added, "He'll get over it, though. If Ironhide's name is any indicator, the threats he throws are only 'skin-deep' as you humans say. Inside, his _hardware_ is actually pretty _soft_ \- I know, I do his check-ups - though don't tell him I said so."

Nora wasn't seeming the humor, but Ratchet appeared content to enjoy his own joke for a few moments more before moving to stand.

"If you're up to it, our leader would like a word with you now that you've calmed a bit. I will remain as well, if only to reassure you. How do you feel?" He asked, and she visibly swallowed.

 _Definitely not reassured,_ she thought sarcastically, but kept it to herself. This was no place or time for smart remarks.

"You spoke with him briefly already," Ratchet reminded her gently then. "He just wishes to meet you more formally this time."

"And I am not the only one," another deep voice suddenly interrupted, and Nora's eyes spotted the new bot immediately. He stood leaner and taller than Ratchet, she could tell, even though she was peering around Ratchet to see him standing in the entranceway.

"Sir," Ratchet acknowledged respectfully, standing from his crouched position so the new mech and the girl could clearly see one another.

"Eleonora Kennedy," he said, his deep voice resonating throughout the space. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am Optimus Prime," he told her, and paused. Nora blinked, realizing he was waiting before frantically trying to find something to say that didn't sound stupid. Her mind was blank as she stared at him, and she ended up deciding on a safe 'hello' that was quiet enough for her to rest assured that her voice wouldn't break.

"Tell me, what has brought you aboard our ship?" he asked then, getting straight to the point. Nora vaguely wondered if she'd have to go through it all again with the leader.

"I got pulled up with him," Nora said simply, nodding at the mini-con. The mini-con was looking at the leader with interest.

"I see," the large bot tilted his head. "So you had no other motivation to be in that position than your own curiosity?"

"Yes, I-I mean no," she stammered. "I mean, yes, I just wanted to see what had fallen from the sky. That's it," she pressed again, feeling like she was in the hot seat for reals now. But the leader only nodded and continued from there.

"Then, when our transport beam pulled you up, were you alone? Did you have anyone near you who may have witnessed the incident?" He asked. There was a pause then as Nora opened her mouth, then closed it in consideration. It was a loaded question.

 _If I lie and say there was,_ she thought, _would it change my circumstances at all? Could I use it to my advantage to say that someone_ had _seen?_

But she already knew the answer was no. If anything, she'd have to tell them who - and then what would she say? Would they abduct the blissfully unsuspecting person she accused? Her grandma? No, she couldn't do that.

But still, it went against whatever small survival instinct she had to tell a bunch of aliens-in-hiding that she had no witnesses to her abduction. She'd basically be telling them 'do what you want cuz nobody knows I'm here'.

 _But I think Ratchet is monitoring me for signs of dishonesty,_ she remembered with a shudder. Nora swallowed, preparing to speak.

"...I'm not sure," she said finally, deciding on using the indefinite to her advantage. "I guess someone could have seen what happened. It was all out in the open after all," she told them. Ratchet narrowed his optics at her in analysis (or perhaps suspicion? Nora couldn't tell), but when the leader's optics dimmed slightly, Ratchet shifted his focus to him.

"What is it sir?" He asked when Optimus's optics lit back up. Optimus looked over at Nora.

"It was Prowl," he told Ratchet in Cybertronian, and then switched to English as he addressed Nora. "Your town has reported our activities as a 'freak storm', blaming the displaced earth on a tornado. Your disappearance has also been reported but it seems they are not sure if the 'tornado' was involved. Your grandmother claimed you left with her dog but did not return when it did. Is this the case?"

 _So Adonis abandoned me and made it all the way back home, huh?_ she thought with a sigh.

"Yes, it is," she admitted. "And my grandma is probably really worried about me. I _need_ to get back to her," Nora couldn't help but add. "I swear, I won't tell anyone about you guys. You've all been, uh - really nice, and uh - I don't think you're bad, so I won't say anything. I just want to go home now, please," she continued, remembering her manners. But their mistrust was stronger, and his answer was immediate.

"I apologize but I cannot allow it. Not until we complete our mission here," the leader said, not budging. Nora sulked. "I am sorry. We had hoped to not involve any humans in our mission on this planet," he continued then.

 _I certainly didn't want to be involved either,_ Nora thought dismally and resisted the urge to scoff. She was distracted when Optimus continued.

"But it would seem that this time, it was our fault you have found yourself in this position. Ratchet?" He addressed the medical bot.

Ratchet spoke up then. "There are no evident signs of dishonesty. The girl's cellular device and records provide a strong case for her innocence as well. Even without that, she is 19 years old - the likelihood of of any organization giving a mission like this to an agent so young would be extremely low. Her small and untrained physical build is further evidence to support this," Ratchet mused aloud.

 _My phone, he has it!_ Nora realized, perking up.

Optimus nodded to Ratchet and his optics moved back to Nora then.

"It seems that we can clear you of suspicion in that regard then, young one. However, it does not change the fact that you will remain here. We cannot risk exposure by any indiscretion on your part," he explained without apology. There was a blunt finality in his words that left no room for argument (even if she _did_ stand a chance in asserting her will against giant robotic aliens).

"What of the mini-con, Prime?" Ratchet asked, changing the subject. "Ironhide will wish to know if it truly did bond with the girl," he explained.

Optimus regarded him seriously for a moment, then turned his gaze to the mini-con which had been standing quietly and patiently off to the side, still holding the bars to Nora's cell.

"I suppose the only way to know for certain is to allow contact between them," the leader responded, reaching for the barred door of her confinement space.

The mini-con trilled in excitement at this action, metal feet tapping on the hard floor as he approached the door.

"Wait," Nora interjected, her voice coming out in protest despite herself. The turn of events had come so quickly, she hadn't had time to prepare.

"Not to worry, femme," Ratchet tried to soothe. "He won't harm you. We just need to see how he responds to you."

But Nora had already decided she would rather _not_ explore that option.

Her eyes moved to the little robot in alarm as he slipped inside, and his curious, wide optics did not leave her as he approached without hesitation.

Calling him 'little' was an accurate description _only_ when comparing his size with that of the other aliens. Unfortunately for Nora, the same description would not apply if he stood next to her; the mini-con was easily six feet tall, and along with being somewhat stocky, made an intimidating figure as it approached her slight 5"4 human form quickly and purposefully.

Nora had stood from her position on the bed and moved down to stand on one side. When the mini-con approached her excitedly she climbed to the other side, her nervousness overruling Ratchet's reassurance. The bed between them, he tilted his head in confusion but soon began climbing over himself.

Nora backed up, but the speed at which he came at her did not decrease. If the mini-con had been more cautious or deliberate, perhaps she wouldn't have felt so apprehensive. But she was beginning to feel like a threatened animal in a cage. And when he lifted an arm to reach out to her, she had enough.

" _Stop_!" she screeched, lifting both hands in front of her to try and get the robot to halt.

To her surprise, the mini-con _did_ stop. But his arm did not lower as he shuttered his optics at her in bewilderment.

Still keeping her own hands up, Nora spoke again.

"I-I don't know what you _want_ ," she told it.

The mini-con took another step toward her, but paused again at her quick exclamation.

"Don't-!" she yelped. "Don't come near me," she told him nervously. But he didn't seem especially put-out as he tilted his head to one side. Nora turned her eyes up to the Autobots for help.

"What does he want?" she demanded.

"Only he knows for sure," Ratchet told her. "There is no easy way to know how a mini-con can respond to a human. It will be quickest if we just let him show us. However, I am sure it couldn't be anything harmful to you, I should think. Mini-cons exist to assist their partner, which he seems to recognize as you.

"Yes yes, I _know that_. But I don't know what that _means_ , and honestly it all sounds _insane_ ," Nora blurted, fear driving her tact out the window. "I am not a robot," she continued, ignoring her slip-up at the term. "I'm human. What if he hurts me? You said they don't bond with humans. What if they shouldn't?" She asked, keeping her eyes trained on the mini-con. It didn't seem to understand her plight.

Optimus regarded the query with seriousness, uncrossing his arms. "What do you think, Ratchet?" he asked the medical officer. Ratchet's optics shifted between the mini-con and the human in deep thought. Then, he vented in frustration.

"As I said, I would not _think_ a mini-con would be capable of causing their partner any harm, Cybertronian or other. But… I also wouldn't have thought a mini-con could bond with a human," he conceded. "The girl has a point. It isn't like we have proof of this. Perhaps we let our curiosity get the better of us when we decided to put them together in order to discern the mini-con's function," he admitted with some force.

Opening the door again, Optimus lowered his servo at the entrance and called to the mini-con. The little bot looked over in alarm, and Nora thought she could pick out the feeling of anxiety as it crossed its features. It seemed to have realized what was happening. The mini-con shook its head in denial, and to Nora's alarm, turned back to her and came at her with more persistence this time, its servo reaching for her once more.

Nora's fight or flight instinct took over and immediately she bolted, taking off toward the cell door.

"Mini-con!" Optimus called again with urgency this time, and she heard Ratchet's voice join in with his.

The mini-con had come after her, confused by her actions and running to catch up with the one he identified as his partner. Hearing its footfalls behind her, Nora sped up, shooting through the door and in between the Autobots' legs as she made for the room beyond.

The mini-con was close on her heels as she shot out, but was quickly scooped up by the Prime.

"Gotcha," he said, holding the little bot in his hand. It trilled and chirped and pushed at his fingers, looking down at Nora as it did so. Nora slowed to a halt, gasping for air and turning to look back.

"What the hell…" she breathed, hands on her elbows as she looked up at it.

"Calm down, little one. You can come visit again - but we must make sure your purpose isn't inadvertently harmful to the human. You wouldn't want that, correct?" Ratchet spoke to the little bot, but it did not appear to be listening as it continued to struggle.

"I don't _want_ to know what his function is. I just wanna go home," Nora interjected, making her demand more forcefully this time as adrenaline shot through her veins.

However, she was immediately reminded of her position when both the bots' gazes turned down on her. It occurred to her then that she was outside the safety of her cell, at the feet of two very large aliens.

 _Oh._

Looking toward her cell, Nora sidled toward it nervously. But the Autobots had turned their attention toward each other already and seemed to be speaking seriously in their own language.

* * *

"What do we do, Prime? If the human doesn't wish to interact with the mini-con at all, then…" They glanced briefly at the mini-con, who was peering down at Nora with an anxious expression. "What will happen to it? I cannot recall a time where a mini-con was abandoned willingly."

"Except by offlining," the Prime commented. "Perhaps our decision to put them together was premature. Is there a chance the mini-con will reset if it believes the girl is leaving purposefully?" He asked.

"More than likely the mini-con will continue seeking her out," Ratchet responded, shaking his helm.

"I would not wish to put a mini-con's intelligence in question, but surely it is able to understand her intentions. It is sensitive enough to know what has happened _now_ ," the leader argued.

"I am not saying the mini-con will not understand. I am saying it _will not care_. Even if I could not see how this particular mini-con responds to the humans rejection," he nodded to the little bot, who was squirming and watching Nora scurry into her cell, "Mini-cons in general have been known to be somewhat single-minded where their partners are concerned. The fact that this mini-con seems to have a stubborn and forthright personality does not help."

Optimus sighed. "Would have been an appropriate partner for Ironhide," he commented. Ratchet snorted, nodding in agreement. "Regardless, it poses another problem. Whether or not she accepts or rejects him, the girl will return home when our mission is complete. The mini-con will perhaps wish to follow, and even if she did wish for it, it cannot be allowed either way. We would be sending the mini-con to a cruel fate at the hands of humans," Optimus said, lowering the mini-con to the ground after the human had shut herself into the cell again. It quickly went back to the door, whining dismally. Ratchet nodded at the leader, then brought his brow plates together in thought.

"Not to mention the one it sees as its partner will not even live a fraction of its natural lifespan. It would likely reset itself once more in less than a vorn when the girl dies, and we would not be around to collect it. Or if we take the mini-con from her, it's possible the mini-con will continue seeking her out long after she is offlined. After all, the mini-con has no mental connection to her; it cannot know if she is dead," Ratchet added.

The two stood still at this realization settled in.

"...Well," Ratchet began again finally, giving the leader a serious expression before continuing. "we could choose the easy way," he started, his optics darkening to a deep blue. "We could offline the girl, hasten the process of the mini-con's reset-protocols," Optimus looked at him as though he'd suddenly gone mad, but Ratchet continued. "Or else, there is always the rather cruel option, and that is to not allow the human to return. We lie to her, we collect the rest of the mini-cons, and we leave this planet with her and the mini-con in tow. We do not have time to keep an eye on a mini-con who is constantly trying to escape from us. And after all, what is a vorn in our lifespan?" He said. "Nobody would ever know what happened to one human teenager."

Optimus gave the medic a hard look, but did not reject his proposals outright. There were times when he almost forgot the kind of work Ratchet did - the history he had of making hard calls, of seeing bots (and also humans) die in his care and living with it, accepting it as the war raged on through thousands of vorns. Ratchet was good at his work, was good at making his patients comfortable with him. One could see it just from watching him and the wary human converse. He could speak gently and kindly and provide reassurance - and even lie to them.

As Optimus looked at Ratchet, he was reminded again that one did not live this long through a war by being gentle or kind. Ratchet could be extremely cut-throat, no matter how much he sympathized with his patients.

Optimus glanced again at the girl. She was perched on the berth, watching the mini-con with a furrowed brow as it chirped and called to her through the bars.

 _Time and time again, I fall into the same trap,_ the leader thought. _But I cannot allow my soldiers to make the hard calls for me._ The girl suddenly met his gaze and he looked away quickly.

Venting a long sigh, Optimus addressed Ratchet.

"We are not Decepticons. It is not important that the mini-con is partnered with an Autobot, I suppose. As long as it is not a slave to the Decepticons, I can accept it," he stated. "At least for now."

"Prime, the Decepticons are regrouping. There will come a time in the future, perhaps not even so far from now, where we will need all the help we can get. If the mini-con is still searching for the girl at that time, it will be vulnerable, easy pickings for the cons without protection from our forces," Ratchet countered.

"I see your reasoning - I do feel that it may be difficult to bring her with us. How long could one human live away from its kind? Or rather, how long can one human last in a Cybertronian war ship as we travel space?" Optimus thought aloud. Ratchet nodded.

"We have human life support systems on board, which should still be usable. But it is something to consider - the ship could not lose pressurization even for a moment, it must be kept between certain temperatures, and it must have breathable circulating inside of it at all times. It would only take one battle while we're in space to offline her if even one environmental factor changes too much. It may be more merciful to dismiss her sooner rather than later, if we're even considering that option." Optimus gave his friend a dark look.

"...Ratchet, just what solution are you trying to convince me of?" He asked the medic. Ratchet looked back at him and his expression became pained.

"Prime, I am saying there may not be a solution here that ends well for everyone. We have already forsaken the humans to fight their own battles without our help. Do we sentence this mini-con to vorns of confusion over one of them? Could we not, just this once, focus on our own war rather than sacrificing to protect those who aren't involved?"

There was a long moment where Optimus just looked at Ratchet, wondering if the pain of this endless war had finally beaten down the principles they had once enforced together. There were times where he wondered if he should abandon them himself.

Optimus clenched his fists.

"For now, look into the mini-con's bond with the girl. We will begin preparing for the next drop while you focus on that. Let us see how the situation plays out before we make a decision," Optimus said, then added, "Until we see that there is no other option, my word to her still stands."

Ratchet nodded, relenting as the Prime made his decision. He watched him go without moving for a moment. Ratchet had always marveled at Optimus's seemingly endless well of compassion. But this time…

 _I can only hope there are no unforeseen consequences of this inaction,_ Ratchet thought, sparing the girl one final glance before scooping up the mini-con and leaving.

* * *

 **So, there's chapter four.  
**

 **Ah, a tidbit about Nora's full name - I was still considering whether or not I wanted to name her Nora, and I thought, "But isn't that supposed to be short for something...?" So I looked it up and found several names that Nora is short for, historically...**

 **The first one that caught my attention was "Alianora" which immediately settled my decision. It was so close to "Alien" I couldn't help but find it a little funny. Still, I didn't want it to be too cliche or obvious so I ended up going with a different but similar name on the list, which was Eleonora. I thought it was a more subtle rub on the "alien-abduction" theme than Alianora would have been. The name Adonis as well, while being associated more with mythology, can also be seen astrologically. It's not all that important at the end of the day but eh, I had fun with it.**

 **As always, thanks for reading! To you all out there, I hope your days have been good, and that your school or work or whatever else occupies your time is fulfilling to you.**

 **-PK**


End file.
